MALIBU, Calif. — Nearing the end of West Coast Conference Play, Pepperdine will travel to Northern California to play Saint Mary's on Thursday and then will head to Pacific for a match on Saturday.
Pepperdine is still in the hunt to defend its WCC title. In the WCC standings, the Waves are two games back of first-place LMU with four matches remaining.
MATCH #25 — Thursday, Nov. 21st against Saint Mary's at UCU Pavillion in Moraga, Calif. | Pepperdine (14-10, 11-3 WCC) vs. Saint Mary's (9-14, 5-9) at 7 p.m. | ESPN+
MATCH #26 — Saturday, Nov. 23rd against Pacific at Alex G. Spanos Center in Stockton, Calif. | Pepperdine (14-10, 11-3 WCC) vs. Pacific (16-11, 6-9) at noon | ESPN+
SOCIAL MEDIA — Follow @WavesVolleyball on X for updates and check out PepperdineWaves.com and Facebook (/WavesVolleyball) for releases and more information. Find the Waves on Instagram @peppvolley.
ESPN+ & COVERAGE — For the second straight year, all WCC matches will be streamed live on ESPN+. Live stats and live stream links can be found on pepperdinewaves.com.
THE COMPETITION — The Gaels have posted a 9-14 record this season, going 5-9 in West Coast Conference play. Last week, Saint Mary's had one match slated against Pacific and won 3-1. The Gaels currently stand eighth in the conference, but rank sixth in hitting percentage, averaging a .223 success rate.
Pacific has gone 16-11 overall on the season, and 6-9 in WCC matches. In their two matches last week, the Tigers won a match against Oregon State in five sets but lost 3-1 later in the week to Saint Mary's. Pacific is ranked seventh overall in the WCC, but stands first in digs per set, averaging 15.67. The Tigers rank third in kills and service aces per set in the conference, posting 12.88 and 1.59, respectively.
UP NEXT — Pepperdine will close out the regular season with its final two matches in Firestone Fieldhouse against San Diego on Nov. 27 and versus Oregon State on Nov. 30.
LAST TIME OUT — Last week, Pepperdine swept its opponents in both matches against Santa Clara and San Francisco. Against the Broncos on senior night, the Waves hit .457, and added eight total blocks while serving 10 aces. Grace Chillingworth led all players with 13 kills, while freshman Ella Piskorz finished with 13 kills and a team-high five blocks. Birdie Hendrickson posted six kills and 13 digs and Trinity Stanger finished with eight digs and a career-high four service aces.
Against the Dons, Chillingworth, and Hendrickson each posted 12 kills, while Chloe Pravednikov trailed close behind with 11. Piskorz chipped in 10 kills and tied Kenadie Patterson with four total blocks to lead the team, while setter Rosemary Archer had a 42-assist, seven-dig, and three-block performance. The Waves tabbed nine blocks and six service aces as a team while averaging a .301 hitting percentage.
CHILLY EARNS WCC WEEKLY AWARD — For the second time this season and the eighth time in her career, senior outside hitter Grace Chillingworth has been named the West Coast Conference Offensive Player of the Week. After helping the Waves go undefeated with two sweeps last week, Chillingworth led the Waves with 25 kills, averaging 4.17 per set, and hitting .429 with just four errors in 49 total attempts. She served four aces across both games, adding to her 103 career service aces. Chillingworth currently ranks second in the WCC with 3.84 kills per set and 4.36 points per set.
WCC PRESEASON HONORS — Grace Chillingworth, Birdie Hendrickson and Riley Simpson all made the WCC All-Preseason Team, which was announced in August. The Waves were also picked to finish first in the WCC Preseason Coaches' Poll, receiving eight first-place votes.
2023 RECAP — The Waves are coming off a 19-9 season, including a WCC Championship win and berth into the program's 27th appearance in the NCAA Tournament, which is the program's fifth in the last six years. After a 1-6 start to the 2023 campaign, the Waves rallied, winning the next 17 consecutive matches, including 14 in straight sets from Sept. 10 through Nov. 11. The 17 wins in a row tied the program's second-best win streak in history, which had last been done in 2002 (17) and 2003 (25). It was the eighth time in program history that Pepperdine has won 13 or more games consecutively as well. In conference play, the Waves dropped just six of the 53 sets they played. The team ended their season in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, losing in five sets to #18 Dayton.
The Waves averaged 12.5 kills per set on a .228 success rate while adding 14.3 digs, 12.5 assists, 2.4 blocks, and 1.5 aces per set. Pepperdine kept opponents to 12.1 kills with a .194 hitting percentage. Grace Chillingworth led the attack, posting 3.78 kills per set on a .272 clip, while also leading the squad in service aces, recording 32 aces in her 96 sets played. Vanessa Polk posted strong defensive efforts, adding .84 blocks per set. Brynne McGhie had a solid freshman campaign on playmaking duties, tallying 2.56 assists per set last season.
ONE LAST BOWL OF CHILLI — Returning for her final season with the Waves, 2023 WCC Player of the Year, Grace Chillingworth will look to help the squad defend its WCC title. The senior outside/opposite hitter from Tustin, Calif. collected AVCA All-American and AVCA All-Pacific South Region awards, as well as four WCC Offensive Player of the Week honors last season. Chillingworth led the league by averaging 3.78 kills per set last season, which also ranked 64th in the nation, while also recording seven double-doubles, and 22 matches with double-figure kills.
FRESHMEN TAKEOVER — The 2024 squad features seven freshmen, making up almost half of the Waves' roster. Team Canada middle blocker Ella Piskorz, is joining Pepperdine after being a part of Canada's U19 FIVB squad that played at the World Championship in Croatia and Hungary in 2023. Outside hitter and all-league player of the year, Chloe Pravednikov is a Southern California native and collected numerous league awards throughout her four-year varsity run. A libero out of Kailua, Hawai'i, Charis Kai, earned a spot on the Prep Volleyball Class of 2024 Watch List, helped her team to a HHSAA Division II State Championship in 2023. Maggie Beauer also joins the squad after winning the American National Championship in 2024, while earning MVP honors at the tournament. Beauer also helped her high school be ranked as high as 23rd in the nation and win the 2023 6A Arizona State Championship. Mila Stojakovic, daughter of longtime Sacramento King Peja Stojakovic, bolsters the front row after helping lead St. Francis Catholic HS to a sectional championship last year. Tustin, Calif. native Ella Irwin will help defensively, having played four years of varsity volleyball as a libero for Foothill High School in Tustin, Calif. Texan setter Piper Justiss rounds out the group of freshmen; she was a 6A All-District selection for Bowie High School in 2023.
MORE THAN AN ATHLETE — For several seasons, the Waves have made mental health a priority among the team. The white jerseys the team wears sport a green ribbon, which signifies mental health awareness. Throughout a majority of the games, many players will wear green hair ties and bracelets, and even paint their nails, all in support of the mental health awareness initiative and erasing the stigma. The team also has two shirts that sport the phrases "'More Than an Athlete" and "Be Kind to Your Mind." A focus for the team is to live an honest and healthy lifestyle with each other. At practice, the team will have at least one weekly meeting and check-in with the team and coaches where the floor is open. From those check-ins, the team knows who needs to be lifted up throughout the week, who needs to be checked in with and reasons why they might be struggling. Pepperdine women's volleyball is attempting to erase the stigma surrounding mental health in athletes.
SEASON TICKETS — Season tickets are now available for all fall sports, including women's volleyball. Additionally, Pepperdine is offering a Fall All-Sport Pass, which grants admission to all fall home sports including women's soccer, women's volleyball and men's water polo - a $525 retail value for just $150. Learn more and access those exclusive season ticket offers here: gowav.es/peppszntix2425.
GROUP OPPORTUNITIES — Interested in bringing your group out to a Pepperdine Athletics event? Unique experiences include anthem buddies, national anthem performances, fan tunnels, halftime performances and more. Group tickets (15+ tickets) and experiences are available, beginning at $5 per person for women's volleyball, men's water polo and women's soccer. Those interested in purchasing group tickets can fill out this form or reach out to the ticket office via e-mail wavestix@pepperdine.edu or phone (866) WAVE-TIX.
JR. WAVES — Register your kid(s) to join Pepperdine's official kids club, "Jr. Waves" for the 2024-2025 academic year. Jr. Waves receive an exclusive t-shirt, membership card and a lanyard that grants free general admission to all Pepperdine ticketed sporting events. Memberships start at $100 per kid.
